A Soldier's Tale
by ConCordeNL
Summary: Adam del Forza, a Spec-Ops ghost-unit, is frozen in the year 2015 to cure his cancer in the future. When he is awakened, he is cured, but his awakening triggers a series of events that can threaten the galaxy.
1. Prologue

**A quick look at Adam del Forza's life before the events of the story.**

* * *

_Adam del Forza is a thirty-four year man. He was born on May 18th, in America, with a Spanish mother and an American father. Over the course of his life, he grew fascinated with warfare, the tactics and the equipment. At age twenty-one, he joined the Army. Rigorous and harsh training made him show his capabilities._

_Serving as a soldier at age twenty-eight, Adam was injured and his lower arms were severed from his body. However, his superiors declared him KIA and had a purpose for him: his lower arms were to be replaced by bionic ones. The procedure succeeded and was put in a Special Operations team, all composed of ghosts._

_At age thirty-three, he was diagnosed with a form of cancer, unknown to any doctors on the planet. He was doomed to die. A superior came up with a risky, but helpful solution: place him in a cryo-unit, to cure his cancer in the future and to keep his skills intact. Adam agreed, and at age thirty-four, was placed in the unit. His bionic arms were detached from the bases and put in the sides of the unit._

_His name, date of birth and rank were carved in a steel plate and attached to the cryo-unit, along with his lasts words:_

"_Awake me, when I can only die by a bullet through my skull."_

* * *

**This is just a summary of what happened before the real story begins. I don't know if it's good or bad, but leave me a review to say what you think of it. I'll try to stick to the game's story line (Shepard chose Synthesis), but please, don't whine about incorrect things. I don't know too much about ME, but I'll try my best. I don't know when I'll start this story (probably after I almost finish my other one) but keep an eye on it.**

**Read my other story, Mortal Kombat: Chronos (MK: Chronos). Promoting my story in my story, I know it's bad. And that story might be a bit 'eh', but it's my first.**

**P.S.: This story will be taking place after the events of ME3, so can anyone tell me what the best-case scenario for the Synthesis ending is?**


	2. Welcome To The Future

**The first real chapter of this story. I hope that this FF satisfies you all, because honestly, I don't know that much about ME. Quite a bit, but not the fine details and such. Please, read it before judging it.**

* * *

[_The Reaper war has taken it's toll on the galaxy. Many died within the war. The Mass Relays and the Citadel were significantly damaged. However, over the course of four years, the Citadel and a part of the Mass Relays were rebuilt, using the Reapers to speed up repairs._

_The Normandy was found by a small fleet of Turian ships, four months after the end of the war, flying around in space. The Normandy was guided back to Earth to help the survivors._

_It was four years later that Adam del Forza, still within the cryo-unit, was brought to an icy planet within an unnamed planetary system. His combat record proved him to be the man for he job: guide a team of scientist to a new, unknown alien relic._]

"Aargh! Goddamn tools!" Mason yelled. He was busy repairing excavation tools all day.

"Are those tools coming along?" Kemian asked. He was a scientist too, the one who accidentally discovered the unknown alien relic.

"Yeah, just... damn, sometimes technology is a pain in the ass."

"Technology brought us here." Vorus replied. He was one of the Turian soldiers on the icy planets to protect the mostly Salarian scientists.

"I know that." Mason retorted. "Otherwise we wouldn't be where we are right now, etcetera, etcetera."

"Alright, jeez, don't be so upset about it." Vorus responded. The last few weeks had taken their toll on he many scientist and soldiers in this research site.

About three weeks ago, Kemian, alongside his team, had accidentally found an alien artefact. H had only examined the outside, before his team was attacked by unknown mercenaries, wearing primitive suits against the cold and light armour to protect them. Kemian a soldier, ordered to protect the team, escaped, reporting their finds and warning them of the mercs.

The researchers examined some of the footage the soldier caught of the mercs. They were unrecognisable, due to no comparable resources to identify them and the snow. The site went on alert. More soldiers would now be necessary, to protect them from an actual threat.

Vorus had found a soldier in the database called Adam del Forza, a thirty-four year old male human, stored in a cryopod that was being shipped around, because no one was interested in him. Vorus checked his combat record, because no ordinary human would be stored in a cryopod. Only if it was an important or rich person.

He had read his record numerous times, and therefore, had noticed things that would render him useless. The man was diagnosed with a form of cancer that, for his time, was incurable. It was curable now, but Vorus understood why he was rejected. He was kept in containment from 2015 an onward. Vorus saw that he was a Spec-Ops 'Ghost' soldier, equipped with bionic arms.

He suggested bringing him here, cure his cancer and utilize him as a protector for the scientist. Some protested, claiming that an 'ancient' human would only be a burden to the team. Others were in favour. After all, he still was a Spec-Ops soldier, apparently important enough to grant him bionic arms and save him from certain death by freezing him.

Eventually, a small majority voted for bringing the soldier here, curing him of his cancer and bringing him back in combat. Of course, he would need a quick lesson or two about weaponry and equipment of this age. Combat tactics were an option, only if the soldier was incapable of memorizing any strategy or tactic whatsoever, or if his tactics were extremely outdated.

"Can someone please get me a welding tool?" Mason complained.

"You need a tool to repair a tool?" Kemian teased.

"Don't do that." Mason replied, obviously getting irritated by questions and responses from others.

"Understood." Kemian said seriously, infuriating Mason even more.

"Vorus?" a soldier suddenly asked, walking through the door.

"Mmh?" Vorus growled.

"The soldier is here, the ship carrying the cryopod will land in one minute."

"I'll be there in a second." Vorus said. The soldier left, while Vorus geared up.

"Vorus, it's not like the human will snap your neck." Mason said, implying that Vorus was afraid.

"Just preparing for the worst." Vorus replied. He left with those words, walking over a small, metal path amongst the many small buildings that made up this site. He reached the landing platform, watching the ship descend. The ship landed and opened the back. Two official-looking men walked out, rolling by the cryopod. A woman approached Vorus with a strict, serious face.

"You got the payment?" the woman asked, straight to the point.

Vorus handed over the data chip, containing the payment, The woman took it, put it in her payment device thing, handed it back and walked back to the ship. The men transporting the cryopod came back and entered the ship. It flew away. The entire process had taken only three minutes.

"So where did they put the cryopod?" Vorus asked to the nearest person.

"They took it... that direction." the woman answered, pointing northwest. Vorus walked a minute before a scientist waved him to come to him.

"He's here." the scientist said, nodding towards the door. Vorus opened the door, looking at the operational, but old cryopod. The man inside was barely visible. But he did see the lack of lower arms. Vorus walked around the pod, looking for the bionic arms that were obviously not placed onto the h man's arms. He found each of them on both side of the pod, waiting for usage.

Vorus read the steel plate on the bottom of the pod.

_Adam del Forza_

_May 18th, 1981_

_Spec-Ops 'Ghost'_

_Awake me, when I can only die by a bullet trough my skull._

Vorus looked for a moment, took a deep breath and opened the hatch. Slowly, it opened, revealing the man inside as a well-built, tall man. At first, he slowly opened his eyes, almost like he was sleeping. But seconds after, he fell to his knees and vomited, supporting himself on his bionic bases.

"Are you going to be alright?" Vorus asked. The man only returned a slow nod, frozen to the ground. He was only in a small spandex-like suit. The man slowly looked up, and at the sight of Vorus, crawled back against the wall, stunned by the sight of a new being.

"Don't worry, you're safe." Vorus said, trying to calm the man down. Vorus slowly walked over to the man, handing him his bionic arms. The man stretched his arm forward. Vorus was confused for a moment, but realized that the man himself couldn't really take them. He attached the arms, which let out an electronic, almost pulsating sound, charging up.

The man stood for a moment, looked at Vorus, who was waiting for a response. The response came in the form of the man slamming Vorus in a wall and holding up a primitive, metal blade against his throat. Vorus stayed calm, knowing that this was a response of total panic.

"Calm down." Vorus said, slowly and calm. "I'm not here to hurt you."

The man was still standing there, with the blade against his throat, but the expression on his face changed slightly, from panicking to alarmed.

"I am Vorus, a Turian."

The man slowly backed down, his blade still at the ready. He was thinking of scenarios, the best and the worst.

"Can you please lower your blade? It's quite an obstruction."

The man lowered his blade and sheathed it back in the right arm. His face was the face of a man prepared to do the worst.

"I am assuming that you are wondering where you are?"

The man nodded his head slowly once.

"I'll explain later. In the meantime, I'll get you some clothing."

Vorus called in a soldier to bring some clothing to keep the man warm. After he got dressed, Vorus beckoned the man to walk along. They walked outside. Only one or two people looked up from their work.

"What is your name, human?" Vorus asked while walking back to his respective building, trying to get a word out of the man. He was quiet for a few more seconds, until he finally spoke.

"Adam." the man replied with a deep, slow voice.

"Alright, Adam. At least you can talk. Where are you from?"

"America." Adam replied, still very reluctant to talk.

"I think you mean what was formerly known as America. Now it's mixed with what was once Canada and Mexico, creating the United North American States."

"Okay." Adam retorted, still unable to truly believe these statements.

"You seem nervous." Vorus said. Adam said nothing. They kept walking until they reached the building where Vorus is stationed. Mason looked up from his repaired tool.

"So this is the soldier?" Mason asked, examining the man.

"This is him." Vorus answered. "He's not really a talker, so I'll introduce him for you. This is Adam."

"Welcome, Adam." Kemian said. Adam looked towards the skinny, large-eyed alien scientist.

"Welcome. I'm Mason." Mason said, extending his hand. Adam shook it, relieved he saw an actual human.

"Kemian, you don't seem keen on talking." Vorus said, watching Kemian resume his work.

"I'm a scientist, not a soldier. You talk to him." Kemian retorted, not in the mood to talk to Adam.

"So much for hospitality." Vorus said. "Well, Adam, since this is a different age, 2190 exactly, I'll give you a quick lesson on equipment and weaponry."

Adam looked to Vorus with an expression of disbelief. Adam could not believe he was frozen for nearly 180 years.

"Kemian, can you fix a cure for his cancer?"

"Already did it." Kemian responded, picking up a tube with some weird, red substance in it. Kemian pulled out a syringe, got some of the substance out of the tube and carefully tried to stickinb in one of Adam's veins. Adam retracted his arm, uncertain of the events of this goo.

"Don't worry. It will cure your cancer. May take an hour or two." Kemian said, calming down Adam. He slowly penetrated the skin and the vein and injected the yellow substance. "May cause some side effects. Nausea, dizziness, that sort of thing."

"Don't make him even more weary of us." Vorus reacted. "Anyway, welcome to the 22nd century. I'll give you a lesson or two about now."

The two walked to a shooting ground. It was created to keep the skills of the soldiers high.

"Alright, were at a shooting range. I assume you can aim and pull a trigger, so I'll give you a quick guide of the weapon." Vorus said, holding an M-96 Mattock. "The weapons of now still use ballistic projectiles, but are twenty times smaller and not accelerated by gunpowder. There is one metal block that gets shaved off each shot. The block can be used for thousands of rounds so ammunition is barely an issue. Heat is an issue. Weapons needed to cool down first before they could fire again. The geth, robots designed by Quarians, another species, then adopted thermal clips to disperse of heat. They are ejected out of the weapon like this *ejects clip* and replaced by a new one."

"Like mags." Adam said, finding this lesson easy to remember, since weapons hadn't changed so much since 2015.

"Sure, whatever you want. How about you give it a go?" Vorus said, throwing the weapon at Adam. He was afraid Adam would accidentally fire the weapon, but his motor skills and bionic arms were surprisingly good. "This weapon has sixteen semi-automatic shots before overheating, so keep that in mind."

Adam took the weapon in his hands, aimed at one of the targets and fired. He began slowly, counting the shots before ejecting the clip and reloading. It was pretty familiar.

"Good. At least you know how to shoot." Vorus said, happy that the soldier was able to shoot. "And accurately too, according to the fifteen shots in the middle. One of them is slightly to the left, but not every shot can be a hit."

"Every shot counts." Adam replied seriously.

"Well, let's get to the point." Vorus said, understanding the growing impatience of the man. "We didn't bring you here to get to know us. We brought you here for a purpose."

"What?" Adam asked.

"We found an artefact of unknown origins. Kemian's team found it. Before they could further examine it, they were attacked by a gang of mercs and were forced to retreat. Only Kemian and a soldier made it out."

"So why I am here?"

"It's harsh, but soldiers aren't very cheap. You are one of the last soldiers we can get. And besides, since you've been a Spec-Ops soldier, I assume you know how to follow orders."

"And if I don't fight?" Adam asked, though he knew what was going to be the answer.

"We push you back in the cryotube or shove you off of a ridge."

"Then I will follow orders."

"Good. Now, I'll prepare some plans and get a few soldiers for the job. Meet me at the crevice north of this shooting range tomorrow at 0800 hours. You know what a crevice looks like?"

Adam nodded. He isn't the smartest person in the world, but he isn't retarded.

"Good. See you then."

* * *

The crevice wasn't too thin. The twenty armed soldiers, including Adam, slowly walked through the crevice. This part was still covered, so Adam wondered what the end of this tunnel-like crevice was like.

"How long until we reach the end of this path?" Vorus asked over the comm.

"Two minutes." Kemian replied, safe within Alpha Station, the base where they were stationed. The group continued walking, slowly but steady, until they finally reached the end. The end was circular.

"Kemian?! Why is the excavation site circular?" Vorus asked angry.

"It's not circular. It's a small path."

"Well, now it's a circle. Half a circle to be exact." Vorus responded. "But it won't be a problem for us. Just a little change in plans."

The soldiers waited for a moment while Vorus kept silent for a few seconds.

"Alright. Everyone geared up?"

The other soldiers nodded.

Adam wore a high-performance armour called Terminus Assault Armour, black and red in colour, and carried an M-96 Mattock and an M-27 Scimitar, which he personally 'semi-automated'. He was always into shotguns and used it in the past successfully many times.

They waited for Vorus' signal to commence the assault. His hand flat in the air, he looked for one second, then closed his hand in a fist, signalling four CQB's to rush to cover. They expected a rain of rounds to shower on the CQB's. But that didn't happen.

"No gunfire." Kemian said, noticing the lack of death on the other side of the comm.

"Keep your eyes open. It can be an ambush." Vorus said. Slowly, they moved to the middle of the half circle in the ice. But nothing happened. Not even a wisp of wind was heard.

"Keep on guard." Vorus said once again. The soldiers looked around for any sign of life. Adam looked around and spotted a small device in the ice. He walked over to it, his curiosity taking the better of him. He approached the device. It was bulged and circular, black with some purple light accents.

Adam crouched to examine the device, but the device shot up an onto Adam's chest, flipping out the armour's systems.

"He desecrated the artefact! Sinners!" a loud voice roared from up on the ridge. The mercs had been hiding all along to strike at the perfect moment, but they saw Adam absorb the device.

"Take cover!" Vorus ordered. They got behind anything that would sufficiently protect them. Adam's suit was transforming. The device melted in the chest plate, changing the armour's appearance. The black armour changed into a very dark red colour, while the red lights changed to a bright purple colour.

"_Assembling armour. Completion in 30 seconds._" (Imagine the suit's voice from Crysis)

Adam's armour had been fucked up. To make it worse, the HUD was displaying weird static and strange symbols constantly appearing and disappearing.

"Kill the sinner!" another voice yelled from atop the ridge, opening fire on Adam. The other soldiers covered him, wondering what was happening to him.

"_Rebuilding shield systems. Completion in 10 seconds._"

"Adam, get behind cover!" Vorus commanded, still fending off the mercs, though wondering if these people were mercs.

"_Armour reorganization complete._"

Adam gained control over the suit. The HUD was far more rounded and purple-reddish, and the armour self had rounded out a bit. He ran for cover, grabbed his Mattock and started firing. For some reason, time slowed down, giving him the opportunity to line up headshots.

The mercs had thought this would be an easy victory, but the organized soldiers were a bit too much for them. Besides that, the man that absorbed the artefact, had been popping them one by one in a short period of time. The mercs retreated, throwing in the towel.

The soldiers waited for a few seconds before crawling away from behind the cover.

"So much for a battle plan." Vorus said, looking for wounded. "Everyone alright?"

"Two soldiers are wounded, a shoulder shot and a body shot, though not severe." a soldier replied.

"They'll make it." another soldier said, examining the wounds. Vorus walked to Adam, who was looking at the armour.

"Great shooting," Vorus complimented. "What the hell happened to your armour?"

"The device... it..." Adam said with a shaky voice. The armour was still doing some weird stuff, like analysing the soldiers. Vorus was analysed too.

"_Species: Turian. Name: Vorus Sephrron. Age: 45._"

"Man, the armour is going insane." Adam said. "It's doing a bunch of stuff it isn't supposed to do."

"Like what? Besides the makeover." Vorus asked.

"It is analysing everyone. Telling me their names, species and age. I think... it's making a database of some sort."

"Do you know how you can access this 'database'?"

"No." Adam responded short. "I need to take it off to figure out what happened. But not before we get back to base."

"Sure, whatever you need to do. But take some of the soldiers with you."

Adam walked back to base, along with the wounded soldiers. After a full hour of walking, he got back to base, while the wounded soldiers were taken to the med bay. Adam himself walked to the building where Mason and Kemian were stationed. Kemian was too busy creating some medpacks, but Mason looked up, staring at the armour.

"Wohohow, that's one hell of a makeover!" Mason said. "Did something happen down there?"

"Questions later." Adam said. The device was probably of scientific importance, so he'd tell it later. "Can you examine this suit so I can get out of it?"

"Sure, I can do a quick scan now." Mason answered. He grabbed some device, a scanner, probably, and started examining the suit. The scanner made a lot of sounds before Mason pulled it away.

"Huh." Mason mumbled.

"What is it?"

"It says that the technology is... unknown."

"Is that a problem?"

"No, no, it's just... we have all the technologies in the entire Milky Way indexed, even this piece of crap has indexed it. But some of the components in this armour are completely unrecognisable."

"Is this a negative thing?"

"No, you... you know what? Go to your room, take off the armour and bring it to me. I will... try my best with it."

"O..kay." Adam replied. He walked away, looking behind him. Mason's face had a confused expression, checking the scanner over and over again. Adam continued to his room and took off the armour. It disassembled, the armour folded downwards to his feet, folding in a square box.

Adam just looked towards it. He knew this was a new time, a new kind of technology, but he was still... afraid. He shook off every thought that he had and went to bed, as he had no other job whatsoever this day. He would figure everything out later.

For now, he'll just grab on for the ride.

* * *

**Yesh! The first chapter is done. Please, leave some feedback/positive reviews to improve this story, even if it is extremely harsh or rude. No pain, no gain, ya' know? In anticipation: Thanks. Or if the reviews are utterly useless (YOU SUCK BALLS!): Go fuck yourself.**


	3. Awaken The Beast

**Heyo! A new chapter. Quick? Maybe. But while writing this, I was extremely motivated. So, enjoy.**

* * *

**October 13, 2090**

Adam was busy polishing his dark red, purple accented Scimitar. It had been a surprisingly short three months or so, taking out a few mercs on the way and discovering some of the quirks and abilities of the armour.

The Terminus Armour had internally changed. It could fold in a box for more practical transport, the shield was now a layer over his body instead of a cylinder around the armour. It had become slightly lighter, more durable and more protective.

The armour could analyse a lot of things, such as general species or specific targets to technology, primitive or advanced. He also discovered that his presumed database could be recovered by simply thinking it. It was very easy to do.

Also, his bionic right arm was implemented with an omni-blade. His steel blade was still equipped, just in case of, but the omni-blade was more useful, as it didn't wear off.

The days had become relaxing as the alien artefact had been opened up. The engineers and scientists took a while to do so, using a drill to drill through the thick plating of the artefact. Inside was a maze, often ending with a dead end, where some sort of door is locked down. All they had found was a small audio log, which wasn't even able to be translated, as the language wasn't recognisable.

Adam was done polishing his weapons, so he decided, since there were not too many rules to follow, to visit the new research site, stationed directly next to the artefact's opening, called Bravo Station. It was a smaller one of the but it did the job.

"Hey, Adam." an engineer said, who was working on the audio log Adam hadn't seen yet. "You going somewhere?"

"To Bravo Station." he replied. "Ain't got nothing to do, so I'd like to see some of the artefact's interior rather than stare at in a small video."

"Okay, just don't fuck anything up. That's our job." the engineer said. Adam walked away, but not before his suit analysed the log.

"_Native technology detected. Scanning... complete. Translating..._"

Adam was already gone before he could tell the engineer what his suit was doing. He could tell later on the day. Adam just waited for the suit to complete the translation, which happened halfway the station. What he heard was something that he couldn't quite understand.

"_Audio log start._"

"_Audio log, year 53763._

_It has been a week since we escaped. This icy planet seems to protect us from them. The Commander has ordered everyone to reside within their respective sleeping pods, which will preserve our bodies. Why do I record an audio log?_

_I hope to God someone finds this before awakening us. Before..._"

"_Audio log end. Replay?_"

Adam thought about replaying it. It would be best to replay it one or two times to listen to the voice. It was a slow, reptilian-like voice, with a hint of vibration. It was a voice that made a last attempt to warn someone.

It definitely was interesting. This artefact wasn't just some satellite. It was probably a big escape shuttle, where the 'Commander' and some others got stuck in. They might have survived, but he assumed they didn't, since this was a damn cold planet.

He reached Bravo Station, where a couple soldiers were standing on guard, engineers were working on a few of the artefact's technological mysteries and scientist scanned the environment for some sign of life. Adam's suit scanned another audio log.

"_Audio log start._"

"_Audio log, year 53763._

_Follow the red lights._"

"_Audio log end. Replay?_"

The message was clear. To who it was directed wasn't. The voice was different. Perhaps a hint?

"Adam!" Mason called. "Why are you here?"

"Decided to look at the artefact from the inside. Looking at a screen isn't just as satisfying."

"Sorry, no can do. The head researcher specifically told us not to let you in. It's because she thinks you can cause serious damage to the artefact."

"I can understand." Adam reacted. "But from what I get, there are many things that don't work because no other technology can open it. Except for when you drill through it."

"But that takes weeks to do." Mason replied. "And if we find something that isn't hull, it isn't decryptable or translatable."

Adam decided to tell Mason about the things his suit can do, even if Mason knew. Mason was the one who discovered some of the suit's secrets, but didn't discover everything. So Adam thought it would be best to tell the one who understands some of the suit's inner workings.

"What if I told you that my suit can translate the audio logs in a matter of hours?"

"Say what?" Mason said confused.

"The suit just translated an audio log found in the artefact. It didn't say much though."

"What did it say?"

"Follow the red lights."

Mason stared for a moment. Adam was thinking about what the consequences would be of this revelation. His armour could betaken away, he could also be more involved in the project.

"Come along." Mason said. He literally pulled Adam over the station to the artefact's entrance. Th head researcher, which was an asari, the only asari on the planet, was talking to a scientist, or more specifically, scolding him for scratching the artefact. The head researcher turned his head, just to see who was running towards him.

"Hey!" she yelled, watching the engineer and the soldier almost pass him. "No one goes in the artefact unless I allowed them to. And I forbid Mr. Muscles here to enter it!"

"But I swear, this is of utmost importance." Mason responded, trying to convince her to change her mind. "This can be a change for the project. It could accelerate our progress in this project significantly!"

"And what if it doesn't?" she spoke, demanding that she would get something in return.

"You can fire me." Mason replied firmly. He was absolutely sure Adam had something here.

"Alright. I'd like to see for myself what happens."

Mason, Adam and the asari entered the artefact. It was barely lit by some lights that were put there so no one would bump his head. For a full five minutes nothing happened.

"Well, Mason, I'm impressed." the asari said sarcastically. "Looks like you're out of a job."

Adam looked at Mason. Mason looked down, sad and infuriated.

"You leave tomorrow. Pack your things."

Mason started to walk away, when Adam noticed a red reflection on his boot. The red lights.

"Mason, wait!" Adam yelled. Mason stopped dead in his tracks. "Turn off the lights."

"Yeah, because that'll give your friend back your job."

Mason slumped to the light and turned it off. The darkness consumed them, but here was one thing lit. A red line, lit to guide you to to somewhere. It began at Adam's feet.

"Holy shit!" the asari said, baffled by the discovery. She and many others never saw a red line, even in full darkness. "Follow the line!"

The three walked fast, following the red line, shutting down the lights one by one. Adam was confronted with one door, but he could open it, which was impossible with anything else besides a drill. The line became shorter as they reached the end, until they finally reached a small, circular room down a ramp. It was lit by the red lights, but they were far brighter.

The room was mostly empty. It was just a room. However, there were three cylinders that stuck out due to the lighting. They seemed to look like cryopods, but the front wasn't transparent, more like a sheet of metal that covered whatever was inside.

"Get some engineers here." the asari said. "This... is amazing!"

"I'll get some more to see this!" Mason spoke, running as fast as he could, while screaming "People! Come see this!"

The shouts echoed through the long halls. But the shouts of joy were replaced by shouts of panic.

"Cerberus! Cerberus!"

"Cerberus?!" the asari said with confusion. "I thought they were gone."

"Cerberus?" Adam asked.

"A terrorist group, but they refer to themselves as a pro-human organization. Really pro-human and anti-rest. Were believed to fall shortly after Omega's retake by Aria."

Adam didn't know anything about three-fourth of those things. Cerberus? Omega? But he would care later. Now, he would have to help fend off the assailants. The asari and Adam ran through the dim-lit halls, to the exit. By now, the station was swarmed by white-yellow soldiers, mercilessly slaughtering anyone in their way

"Shit, shit, shit!" the asari cried out, before being shot in the shoulder by a sniper, causing her to fall down in pain. Adam tried to take is weapon, but he left them at Alpha Station. All he had was his omni and steel blade.

"Shoot me, fuckers! Come on, shoot me!" Adam yelled as a last statement before dying. But he wasn't killed, he was knocked out cold.

* * *

Adam felt a stinging headache in the side of his head. He could barely open his eyes. When he did, he was inside a small ship, tied up to the wall. Mason was in front of him. His head was down, but there was no blood beneath him, so chances are he was still alive. Adam looked to the side, watching three Cerberus soldiers play cards.

"Hey, look who's up." one of them said, looking at Adam. You could tell by his tone something was up.

"Finally, we've been waiting for this." another one said. One of them stood up, holding what looked like a pistol.

"This pistol, gentlemen," the soldier began, "can punch right through a shield and make your head explode. It has the power of a sniper."

Mason looked up, not happy to be in this position.

"Now, which one is going first? The nerd or the outcast?"

Adam stared straight into the soldiers eyes through his visor. The soldier was least intimidated. Mason wasn't the silent type, so he opened his mouth to say something.

"Before you say something, I have an offer for you. If you, I don't know, join us, even if you're not willing to, we'll let you live. However, if you don't..." he said, pointing at the pistol. Mason kept quiet for a while to prepare his answer. The answer determined his fate.

"Go fuck yourself, you psycho fucker."

"Tss, bad choice of words." the soldier said, before putting the end of the barrel against Mason's head and pulling the trigger. His head didn't explode, but it left a nice, round hole, blood streaming out of it. Adam struggled to get loose, but it was in vain. He had two options laid before him: life or death.

"Now, what about you, soldier? What do you say to the deal?"

"Well, I would say 'Go fuck yourself', but that would dramatically decrease my chances of survival."

"Smart kid. So I guess it's a yes?"

"In a way, yes. But don't push me."

"Why? What are you going to do? You're alone."

"I'll make sure you and your little buddies die in a sea of fire. Don't test me, because I'll do it. However, if you leave me alone and let me do my job, I'll leave you alone."

"Well, that's enough for me. What about you guys?"

"Whatever the fuck works for you, dude." one of them answered. The other just nodded.

"Great! So that's settled." the soldier said. "Oh, and just so we don't die, you're kept tied up. I hope you understand."

Adam didn't answer, so the soldier went back to his colleagues. Adam thought about what he was going to do. Of course, he was going to escape from Cerberus' clutches, but when and how was going to be a problem. However, he actually wanted to know more about Cerberus. Just so his chances of survival would slightly increase.

"I was told you were exterminated after a certain event."

"Well, indeed." one of the soldiers replied. "Cerberus had taken a significant hit. The organization was largely pushed back. We are the remnants of Cerberus: proud soldiers that fight for the existence of humanity."

"So you're... what? Terrorists?"

"Not terrorists." another soldier said. "Yes, we do execute some violent and controversial things, but the ends justify the means."

"So humans should be on top?"

"That's our goal." the soldier responded.

"Even at the cost of many others?"

"Yes. Now please, stay quiet for a few moments. We'll be docking on our ship in a few hours."

Adam kept himself quiet. He would just go along for the ride and jump off when he could.

* * *

**October 28 2190**

Cerberus had set up camp on the icy planet, still nameless. The scientists and engineers that had survived the attack, were forced to continue their work, or they would be shot point-blank. The asari head researcher was forced to work on the cylinders, still closed entirely.

"Why are you so slow?" one of the Cerberus guards complained. "Work faster!"

"Relax, I'm trying." she retorted, trying to figure out how to open this thing without damaging it. "It's not like you can do a better job."

"Don't go down that road." the guard said. "I can replace you. It doesn't matter. You'll die anyway. Now or in a hundred years."

"Go fuck yourself." she growled. The guard laughed, obviously enjoying the woman's frustration. He leaned to the side of the wall when a soldier walked down the ramp.

"Hey, there are some guys coming soon."

"Who?"

"Some cult freaks or something. They want to see this 'artefact' up close."

"So what?"

"They seem really devoted. Like 'I will rape you when you even touch this' type of devoted."

"Then I'll keep my weapon at the ready."

The cult group had sent eight people to represent them. They wore a mask, similar to those of the quarians, but without the mouth piece thing(?). The rest was covered by a raincoat-like thing, with some armour that protected them from injury.

When they saw the cylinders, they knelt before them like they worshipped them.

"It is true! The artefacts creators have been uncovered!"

"Easy, there, pal." the guard said, while the asari stood there, watching the cultists kneel before something that was probably never opened. "You, asari, get back to work."

She resumed to trying to get the unit to open up, but when she did, the cultists freaked out.

"Do not touch the remnants of this artefact!" a cultist said, walking towards the asari.

"She has to, because it's her job to." the guard responded.

"Order her to stop!" a female cultist cried, pulling her pistol. Cerberus had forgotten to check their guests.

"Put down the weapon!" the guard commanded, aiming his shotgun towards her. The thing soon escalated. Everyone pulled their weapon, more Cerberus soldiers came rushing in and everyone was screaming to back down. The cultist were to the right of the asari researcher, while the Cerberus soldiers were on the left.

One of the soldiers shot above them, hitting a thick wire of some sort. Things even escalated even more. Things seriously spiralled out of control. While everyone was screaming towards one another, a very soft, electronic sound came from the tube the asari was next to. Only she noticed the thing open up. She crawled backwards as the metal plates slid open, revealing a not even remotely recognisable creature in black armour.

The armour lit up with some red lights, showing the curvy, rounded design of the armour. The beast stepped out, standing an impressive two metres and thirty centimetres (7,5 feet) while bent, with two thumbs, an index finger and a slightly longer finger, all with sharp claws. His feet parted in three toes, with only the claws uncovered by the armour. There were long, black spike sticking out of the back and the back of his head, the latter being around twenty centimetres shorter (7,8 inches). It had a slightly elongated head, with tusks at each side of its lower jaw. This specific one had lost its right tusk, leaving a stump.

The alien stood still, looking at the bickering humans, before turning his attention at the asari a few feet away, next to him. He slowly walked to her, crouching to inspect her. She tried to find something to defend herself. But she couldn't find anything.

"What the fuck is that thing?!" a Cerberus soldier yelled, suddenly noticing the giant thing near the asari. He shot it at the head, but the round simply bounced off the shields. The creature turned his head, slowly, like a psychotic killer.

While the cultists screamed even louder, the Cerberus soldiers turned their attention to the creature, watching it rise up. It's height was intimidating, and it's armour and many sharp features made it a frightening sight.

The cultists weren't screaming anymore, but staring. Their vision of the artefact's creator was a lot different, more human. This was far from it. The creature growled, the growl vibrating and the spikes on his head shivering, causing it to make a sound similar to that of a rattle snake.

"Shoot it?" a Cerberus soldier asked hesitantly.

"Shoot it!" a Cerberus sergeant yelled. An instant rain of projectiles hit the creature, but it shook them off, grabbed a weapon from his side, not recognisable by the soldiers and started mowing down both the cultists and the soldiers. The projectiles killed half of the people there, causing them to panic and shoot the creature as much as possible. It didn't even care and shot the remaining cultists and soldiers that didn't escape.

When the room was empty, the creature walked to the remaining two tubes and effortlessly opened them. Two other beasts stepped out, both with black armour and cyan lights. The red one turned his attention to the asari, who was nearly crying by the tension of near-death.

It walked towards her, knelt and pushed her face to face his face.

"W-What do you want f-from me?" she asked with a shaky voice, even though she wasn't sure they understood her. The reply answered that question.

"Help."

The creature stood up and walked towards the ramp, with the two others following behind.

"Stay." the red one ordered before heading into battle. The soldiers were faced with three of the creatures. The red one carried a type of automatic plasma assault rifle, the cyan one with a round visor on the right of his head carried a sniper and the other carried something like an LMG.

The soldiers in the artefact were crushed by the aliens, blazing through them like a tornado. At the entrance, Cerberus soldiers were ready to open fire on the aliens. When they did, it literally did nothing. Like they were never even hit. Nearly every Cerberus soldier was annihilated. Vorus, still alive after the Cerberus raid when he was forced to retreat, saw all of this happen.

"Holy shit." he said as the aliens moved to Alpha Station. Kemian was forced to to work on temporary injections, when the aliens entered the station. Kemian was kept alive for some reason. After a full twenty minutes, nearly everyone was dead. Kermian was dragged to Bravo Station, where he was tied up. The asari was brought outside and was put next to Kemian.

"What the fuck are you?" she asked.

The aliens babbled some unintelligible language, before turning back to her.

"We are Preatorian. And you are going to assist us."

Vorus watched the situation unravel. He ran away with new information. He had to warn people of this unknown threat. These 'Preatorians'.

"Ghazul'Rha." the black-cyan coloured sniper spoke in their native language. "What now?"

"Patience." the red one responded. "Nex'Os." he said, turning to the LMG'er. "Scan the environment. Search for more. Xev'Os, search the ship for others."

They bowed and started to execute the orders. Ghazul'Rha turned to the salarian scientist and asari. He asked them a question in English, while the screams of Cerberus soldiers and scientists echoed through the corridors of the ship.

"Tell me everything about this time."

* * *

**Well, that's it for now. Tell me what you think. And don't hold back. Failure's something neccessary to improve.**

**And those that review: Thanks for the help. I appreciate it.**

**I do.**

**Pinky-swear.**


	4. Terrorists & Pirates

**Yeah! A new chapter. Sorry for the long wait (I think it was long), but I wanted to make sure I got some of my facts straight. Not all, because then it would take me a year to finish a chapter. So, enjoy.**

* * *

**November 27, 2090**

It was a normal day. Everyone in the Cerberus Epsilon Base did their job. Adam was done moving a bunch of boxes of ammunition, when he came across a conversation between an Engineer and a Trooper. He joined in.

"It's just odd, you know hat I mean?" the Trooper said. "It's been three weeks and many troops later and communications with the planet are still not online."

"Relax." the Engineer responded. "I bet it's just some kind of snowstorm or something. And if something happened, it would be the cause of those weird cultists."

"I doubt it." Adam said. "Cultists can't do that much damage, right? And besides, I bet your ass that alien artefact has something do do with it."

"I hate to say it, but I agree with you." the Trooper replied. "What if we opened something up that should have been kept buried? We're fearless, but I just creeps me out that the is a chance of a new threat we don't know about."

"Come on, are you serious?" the Engineer retorted. "If, and if there is a murderous unknown threat out there, it can't be that many. Right?"

"_Adam del Forza, report to staff sergeant's quarters." _the intercom boomed.

"You'll never know." Adam said, before leaving the two alone to discuss the matter.

In the past four weeks on the planet Lorek, Adam had been constantly active, whether it was shoving boxes or recovering a stolen piece of gear from the Alliance, stolen by batarian pirates. Returning that piece of equipment was a different story.

Bad news arrived from the icy planet. It appears that, one week after Adam's arrival on Lorek, communications on the planet went dark. Multiple ships have been dispatched to investigate, but none of them have responded.

It was weird to say the least. No footage was recovered from before the incident, nor were there any audio file. Not even a single e-mail. Whereas a few soldiers, including Adam, questioned the situation, the idea that there was more to the incident than a snowstorm or blackout was was quickly dismissed, either telling the truth or hiding it to prevent panic.

Adam walked to the sergeant's office. He knocked one the door.

"Come in." the sergeant's said. Adam opened the door, revealing the quarters. It was very neat.

"Sit down." he said, gesturing to take the seat in front of the desk. "Adam, for the past few weeks, I've seen you deployed in only three operations. I think, personally, that you should be deployed in more. In fact, I'll hand you an operation right now you'll lead."

"Not to sound disrespectful, sir, but why?"

"Well, I took the time to check your files. You're lucky they were recovered. Most files of pre-2100's are lost or destroyed. However, your files survived, and I have to say, they are quite impressive, even if it's old."

"Thank you, sir." Adam replied kindly. Perhaps Cerberus isn't all that bad, apart from the 'kill all aliens' part.

"So, because I have faith in you, I'll put you in charge of this one. It isn't big, just a supply run, but it's a start." the sergeant said, handing over the details of the mission. "You're dismissed. Operation starts in twenty minutes."

Adam nodded, rose and left the quarters, heading for his own to gear up. All his equipment, including his custom weapons for some reason, had been taken to Lorek. Most say because it looked 'fancy'. He was thankful.

The armour assembled around his body, he picked up bis Mattock and Scimitar and headed for Hangar Bay 1. When he arrived, there were quite a few vehicles ready.

One of them was the main transport vehicle called the Elephant. It was a big, six wheeled monster, capable of carrying a Mako plus a bunch of crates.

There were two Mako's ready to defend the Elephant if necessary.

One more vehicle was present called the Buffalo. It was a track-wheeled, armour-plated infantry vehicle, capable of transporting twenty average-sized human soldiers through rough areas. It was also equipped with a mounted turret for self defence.

The Cerberus colleagues around the vehicles entered, while Adam stepped in the Elephant's passenger seat. They drove off to a nearby city to pick up supplies, occasionally shooting a wild animal or a bandit. During the ride, Adam had a small conversation.

"Hey, erm, Adam, right?" the Trooper began. "What do you think of the whole, uhm, weird icy planet situation?"

"It's odd to say the least." he answered.

"Odd? I think there is a lot more going down on that surface. I personally think, and it's a bit rational, a massive army is preparing down there."

"It may not be as radical as you think." Adam replied.

"Really?"

"Look, as far as my opinion goes, a small religious group won't be able to take down a large terrorist group, even if the terrorist group has taken a hit. So maybe, just maybe, something big is going down there."

For the rest of the trip, they were silent, just driving to the city. They eventually reached the warehouse where the transfer was taking place. In the warehouse, several batarians were guarding the supplies.

"Alright, keep you guard up. You never know." Adam warned, stepping out of the Elephant. The batarians were already busy pushing and carrying the supplies to the back of the Elephant. The Cerberus accountant was occupied by the batarian leader, consulting a price.

"_Incoming transmission from Epsilon Base. Accept?" _the suit suddenly spoke. Adam accepted the transmission to listen to what the caller had to say.

"_Adam! Adam, are you listening?" _the staff sergeant yelled. _"Doesn't matter, look, base is under attack, need the men back now, ASAP!"_

"Fuck." Adam muttered before turning to his colleagues. "People! Hurry up, base is under attack, move, move, move!"

Instantly, the Cerberus troops moved to the vehicles like robots. Adam lifted himself to the passengers seat, next to the same trooper that just drove the Elephant. He was having trouble starting the Elephant.

"Start, you piece of crap!" he complained, bashing the dashboard.

* * *

"Tali, Liara, take the left." Garrus ordered. "I and Vega will move to the supply hangar."

Tali and Liara nodded and parted ways with Garrus and Vega. Even with many troops and determination, Cererus wasn't able to push back the Alliance members. As Garrus and Vega cleared out the hangar, Tali and Liara reached the data room, where many Engineers and Troopers were waiting for them.

They quickly disposed of a significant part of the units within the room. While they were busy taking out the stragglers, unexpected reinforcements were on their way.

"_Be aware, reinforcements one the way." _EDI warned. The Normandy scanned the convoy for serious dangers.

"_What units?"_ Garrus asked, with gunfire on the background. _"We were almost done with the hangar here."_

"_At the moment, a fair amount of Troopers, a few Engineers and an unknown soldier."_

"Description?" Tali asked.

"_Dark-red, purple-accented Terminus Assault Armour, equipped with a Mattock and a Scimitar. Keep an eye out for him."_

While Garrus and Vega were busy searching for good spots and dealing with the newly arrived troops, Tali and Liara were still busy taking out the last troopers in the data room.

"Alright, room's clear." Liara said. "Lock the door and access the data terminal, Tali."

"Alright. Hacking the data terminal could take a few minutes." she responded. She hacked the door and shut it, making sure no one would pass. At that same time, the staff sergeant had survived, but was pinned down in a corner. He tried to reach Adam.

"_Adam! Where are you?!"_

"On the way to the data room with two Engineers and three Troopers. Why?"

"_I'm going to die here. You can die here. Make sure that the data of the base won't fall in the hands of the Alliance."_

"Understood. Adam out."

"_Staff sergeant out."_

Adam moved to the data room. The group reached the door, but it was locked.

"Fuck!" a Trooper yelled, bonking on the door. On the other side, Tali was busy hacking the terminal while Liara covered the door.

"_Tali?" _Garrus spoke.

"Two minutes, Garrus." she replied. Adam one the other side was busy figuring out how to open the door, as they had no explosives. All of a sudden, the suit began opening the door.

"_Security override protocols activated. Opening door B03."I_

The door slid open. Liara and Tali were surprised by the door sliding open, as Tali had to cancel her hacking procedure to defend herself.

"Garrus?! Are you coming?" Liara shouted.

"_We're on our way, hold on!" _Garrus responded. While Liara and Tali were able to take down two Troopers and an Engineer, one Trooper, an Engineer and Adam were still standing and still fighting. The Engineer was suddenly ripped apart by a bi blast of blue energy. Adam had studied some of the foes he could encounter and learned that Wrap was a blast that would rip enemies apart on a molecular level.

Adam just stayed out of sight, but had to hurry up. Others were in the base too.

"_Activating Overdrive." _(Temporarily overcharges the shield's generators, becoming invincible for a short period of time. At the end, shields are instantly depleted and take longer to recharge.)"

Adam had to take advantage. He was invincible for a moment, and had to take out the two foes. He leapt out of cover and charged. Tali was unharmed, but Liara was shot twice in the shoulder. She grasped her shoulder and fell down, unable to defend herself with a wound.

Adam and the remaining Trooper slowly walked to Liara, while Tali was hiding behind cover without ammo. She deployed a Combat Drone, but Adam's suit immediately deactivated it, still making his way to Liara.

"Where is backup?" Tali whispered.

"_On the way, hold on!" _Garrus responded.

Adam had Liara in his sights, and so did the Trooper next to him. Tali moved away from the terminal to flank them.

"Oh, how I'm going to enjoy every long lasting second of this moment."

The Trooper aimed and Liara prayed that her brain wouldn't be scattered over the floor. Her wish came true as a shot was fired, but not by the Cerberus trooper. Adam had realised that, if he wanted to survive, shooting an Alliance soldier wasn't the best option. So, in order to escape, he had to shoot and run.

The Trooper fell to his face, while Adam sprinted to the terminal, downloading and erasing the data in the base.

"_Downloading data… complete. Erasing data from: C.E.B.… complete. Downloading software updates… complete. Running self-destruct protocol 01Z… complete."_

He could already hear the shut-downs and explosions throughout the base. So, without hesitation, he ran, leaving the asari and quarian to save themselves. Garrus and Vega were almost at the data room.

"A few more corridors, hang on!" Garrus said, sprinting through the crumbling hallways. At the last corner, Garrus was nearly hit by gunfire, shattering the window behind him. As he took cover, the unidentified soldier leapt through the window in Hangar Bay 2. Adam landed with his back on a small compact car, temporarily rendering him unconscious.

Garrus quickly looked to the corpse of the soldier before rushing to the data room to help Tali and Liara. While Garrus provided medical support and Vega covered the door, Tali started hacking the terminal again. However, she found zero files. Not even a letter remained.

"Damnit!" she shouted.

"What is it?" Garrus asked.

"There is no data! No files, no logs, nothing!"

"How does that happen?" Vgea asked, still watching the door.

"Someone had to erase the data from this terminal!"

"Maybe it was the guy that ran past us?" Garrus inquired.

"Impossible. No one can do that in such a short time."

"Maybe we should just ask him. He fell down a window and landed on a car. In case he's dead, we could just probably deassemble his armour and search for the memory."

Vega walked to the window, while the others checked their weapons and equipment. Vega reached the window and looked down. While the crushed car was still there, the soldier wasn't.

"The soldier's gone!"

"What do you mean 'gone'?" Garrus asked.

"He's gone! No armour, weapons, nothing is there!"

During the three minutes that they were fixing things, Adam regained consciousness. He was practically unscathed and still able to move. He had apparently gained some new tricks by hacking the terminal. He got a motion sensor, his scanner was upgraded to scan environments in real-time and so on. While he slowly rolled from the car, he realised that, if he didn't fix himself a vehicle, he'd be captured or killed. None of those sounded great.

He looked around and spotted a motorcycle-like vehicle. He knew how to ride a bike, so he decided to take it. He opened the bay door and started up the bike. It was raining so bad you couldn't see three feet in front of you, but that wouldn't hold him back. He floored the pedal and raced out of the hangar.

The raindrops made a distinct 'ting' noise on his armour as he sped over the road. His environmental scanner was useful, as he could see dogs or other freakishly formed creatures in time so he wouldn't fly off his bike. As he was halfway down the road to the city, he could hear the Kodiak Drop Shuttle lift off in the far, far distance.

Adam arrived at the city, where no living being was out on the streets. He stepped of the motorcycle and knocked on the first door he came across. A quarian female opened the door.

"Hello?" she slowly spoke.

"I'm sorry to bother you, but I need a ride off the planet."

"You're not a pirate, are you?"

"No." he answered. "Whether I'm a good guy is just the question."

"Right. Anyway, if you want to leave the planet, there is a passenger ship that will transport you to Omega."

"Omega?"

"It's a space station. It's a haven for criminals, thieves and pirates. Perhaps you can seek shelter and find an income there."

"Are you sure?"

"With your posture and advanced-looking armour, you should do fine, besides the bounties on your head."

"Thank you. Where is the docking station of the ship?"

The quarian pointed west. Adam nodded and left for the ship. The rainfall had decreased, so he could at east tell what a house was. He met very few people, all sheltering underneath something to stay dry. Humans, batarians and one creature he didn't recognise. It was a big creature and didn't respond well to Adam looking at him.

Adam arrived at the station, where several people were just about to enter the ship. Many of them were batarian and some human. Only one sole asari stood in the crowd. But who stood out most of all was a female woman in a white and black skin-tight suit. She seemed a scientist-like person, so he would visit her if he had the chance.

The crowd moved swiftly, hurrying up to board the ship. It was a fairly sizeable one, with many separate quarters for separate people, couples and groups, respectively divided in sectors A, B and C, with A on top. After he paid, he was assigned to room A119, somewhere in the middle of the floor. It was a few square metres, the size of a sleeping chamber.

Adam knew the trip would take around one week in total. Supplies were more than enough to survive a whole week and guards would keep order on the ship. Adam himself would keep his stuff neatly stored and locked.

Adam himself decided to sleep, as he didn't sleep for weeks. As a Spec-Ops soldier, he was used to it, but he was, after all, still human. So he went to bed, ready to accept the ways of this new universe.

* * *

**November 9, 2090**

Cara was pushed by the hulking Preatorian. Along with Kemian, they were dragged within the alien structure to witness 'technological perfection'. The red one in front was called Ghazul'Rha with the sniper Xev'Os at his side, while the other, Nex'Os, walked behind them.

They had come across many hangars, filled to the brim with fighters, freighters and even cruisers. By the size of the hangars, the construct had to be huge.

"Where are you taking us?" Cara asked.

"Somewhere. Now shush." Xev'Os spat.

"Sister, there is no need for hostility towards the aliens." Nex'Os replied. "They coincidentally landed on our path."

"Quiet, Marshals. We have more important business to finish."

"Yes, Commander." they replied in unison. They continued towards wherever they were heading. The entire walk took a mind blowing forty-five minutes. The last door in the artefact was a larger one, capable of letting through an elephant.

As the door slowly opened, the enormous chamber behind it became visible. Rows and rows of pods, the same as these Preatorians had emerged from.

"How many pods are these?"

The Commander looked at the salarian with a devious smile, even visible in his expressionless face.

"If you count every single filled pod..." Ghazul'Rha began, but paused for dramatic impact.

"Fifty million."

* * *

**Now, thank you for reading. It would mean a lot to me if you would leave positive feedback and critisism.**

**Just for clearance:**

**Ghazul'Rha: Male Preatorian Commander**

**Xev'Os: Female Preatorian Marshal**

**Nex'Os: Male Preatorian Marshal**

**And for now, until next chapter :)**


End file.
